Accounting Challenges
The pediatric biller’s job would be easier if accounts all paid on time and insurance companies always reimbursed the correct amount. Unfortunately, accounts build up balances and credits and insurance companies overpay, underpay, and demand “takebacks.”
Read and watch from the list below to learn how to use PCC’s tools to handle common accounting challenges.
As always, contact PCC support at support@pcc.com or 1-800-722-7708 for help. We can walk you through any of these procedures and help you make configuration changes to meet your practice’s needs.
- Refund Personal Credits (2.5 min • 2022-11)
- Post a Returned Check or Other Personal Payment Reversal (4 minutes • 2022-11)
- Reverse an Insurance Payment (Post a Takeback) (5.5 min • 2023-10)
- Create New Claims and Resubmit (8.5 min • 2024-03)
- Refund Personal Credits
- Post a Returned Check or Other Personal Payment Reversal
- Reverse an Insurance Payment (Post a Takeback)
- Create New Claims and Resubmit (maketags)
- Write Off Account Credits
- Write Off Charges and Bad Debt
- Turn an Account Over to Collections
Related Articles
- Here are some related articles in Other Pediatric Practice Resources > Other Tools and Resources for Your Practice > Billing and Practice Management > Post Payments, Refunds, and Adjustments:
- Every insurance claim in your PCC system has a unique identification number. The number appears in various reports and programs, and you can use it to improve claim tracking and payment posting.
- Sometimes a credit should be written off and counted as income to your practice. For example, if an account credit or insurance overpayment remains on your books for several years, your practice may decide to write it off and treat it as revenue.
- When you need to refund a personal credit to a family, you can post a refund adjustment.
Reverse an Insurance Payment (Post a Takeback)
From time to time, insurance companies will ask you to reimburse them for an overpayment. Sometimes, the company will ask you to send them a refund check. Sometimes, they will underpay you for more recent charges in order to make up for the overpayment on an old charge.- When insurance carriers send payment and adjustment information, either on an EOB or an ERA, they often include a code with a small message. These codes are known as CARC values, or Claim Adjustment Reason Codes, and they are an industry-wide standard.
Post a Returned Check or Other Personal Payment Reversal
When a check bounces, or a credit card payment is stopped, you can quickly reverse the payment in the Payments tool in PCC EHR. You can optionally post a fee, in accordance with your office's financial policy.Post Personal Payments and Write Off Charges
Learn how to post personal payments in PCC. When a family pays their bill, you can enter their payment, link it to charges, and optionally enter account notes.Connect to PCC’s Web Conferences and Web Labs
PCC uses the WebEx service to connect you to online training courses and training sessions.- After a payer reviews your electronic claim, they will send your practice an explanation of what charges are paid, adjusted, or denied. On paper, this information arrives as an Explanation of Benefits (EOB) and a check. The electronic version of an EOB is called an Electronic Remittance Advice, or ERA. An ERA usually arrives in coordination with a direct deposit to your practice's bank account. You can use PCC software to post payment and adjustment information from both ERAs and traditional EOBs.
Post Insurance Payments and Adjustments
With PCC, you can automatically post most payments and adjustments sent to your practice as an ERA. If a response requires manual attention or you receive a paper EOB, you can manually post the payments and adjustments.PCC Community: The Home of PCCTalk
PCC Community is an online forum and email list for users of PCC's pediatric software. By connecting to PCC Community, you can join discussions about issues facing pediatric practices as well as PCC's software and services.Read the Pulse: PCC’s Newsfeed
The Pulse is a source of news and information for PCC clients. We use The Pulse to share information about our upcoming software releases, trainings, conferences, events and web labs, as well as pediatric news and industry information.AAP Resources: Pediatric Coding Newsletter, Red Book, and More
PCC offers our clients access to a number of resources from the AAP, including the Pediatric Coding Newsletter and the AAP Red Book.Practice Vitals Dashboard Video Overview
A brief overview of the features available in the Practice Vitals DashboardAsk PCC For a Software Feature or Enhancement
PCC uses your requests and comments to help decide which features and services to develop. We depend on your feedback; we can't make software without you. Read this article to learn the best way to submit a feature enhancement request or defect.- Bright Futures is a national health promotion and prevention initiative led by the American Academy of Pediatrics. PCC provides Bright Futures chart note protocols, periodicity schedules, handouts, and more to all PCC practices.
Best Practices For Sending Messages to Patients and Families
This article provides best practices and other recommendations to help you engage with your patients and improve care through communication. PCC recommends that pediatric practices follow communication best practices and abide by guidelines, even when not strictly required by law. Additionally, PCC recommends you include an explicit “consent to contact” in your practice policies.Configure Capitation and Capitated Plans
Contents1 Create the Insurance Groups, Plans, Fees, Payment Types, and Accounts to Record and Track Payments2 Post Capitation Payments Capitation payments are not like other income. How should you configure the PCC billing system so you can enter and track capitation payments over time? Read the steps below to learn how to create appropriate insurance […]Get Started with PCC Community and PCCTalk
Watch this video to learn how to sign up for and use PCC Community and PCCTalk. Sign Up: https://www.pcc.com/talk Sign In: https://community.pcc.com Learn More: https://learn.pcc.com/help/pcctalk/Top Ten Data Security Best Practices for a Small Pediatric Practice
As a pediatric practice you deal constantly with Personal Health Information (PHI). This data includes: Name, Address, Phone Number Social Security Number Date of Birth Insurance Information Medical Records, including test results This information can be extremely valuable, and therefore a target for hackers. Here are some basic best practices you can implement in order […]Moving Your Practice to a New Location
So your practice is moving. Maybe you have outgrown your current space, or want to move to a more affordable location, or your lease is up, or you want to buy a building as an investment? Moving can be complicated. There are many moving pieces, and PCC is eager to make your move successful, with as little interruption to routine and as few surprises as possible.Read Your PCC Email with Roundcube
You can access your PCC-provided email services with Roundcube, a Web-based email program. This manual contains an introduction to Roundcube, along with a guide for setting up two-factor authentication (2FA) for your PCC email using the Authy app.Reconcile Payments and “Prove Out” at the End of the Day
You can quickly and easily reconcile payments that your practice has posted in PCC EHR. Run the Payment Reconciliation report in order to prove out, checking against your cash drawer and records at the end of the day or the end of your shift. Open the Payment Reconciliation report from the Report Library in PCC […]Connect to Your PCC System from Home
This video will show you how to connect to your PCC system from home with SecureConnect.Send Chat Messages to Colleagues
PCC EHR includes a chat/instant messaging tool that lets you chat and send messages to other PCC EHR users.Why and How Pediatric Practices Should Launch a Recall Initiative Today
Contents1 Why Should My Practice Increase Patient Recall Efforts Now?2 Inform Patients of Your Practice’s New Safety Measures3 Adjust Visit Workflow4 Clean Up Your Practice’s Patient List Before You Do a Large Recall5 Perform Recalls For Specific Patients and Needs6 How to Code and Bill For These Visits7 Create a Library of Resources and Links […]Send Chat Messages to Colleagues
PCC EHR's Chat allows you to message colleagues quickly without having to install and log in to a separate tool.Run a Pediatric Drive-Up Flu or COVID-19 Shot Clinic
Your practice can perform a flu shot clinic while also meeting your enhanced COVID-19 safety protocols. PCC has worked with several practices who are running “drive through” or “curb side” flu clinics. In addition to providing your families and communities with a vital service (flu vaccines!), by running a drive through flu shot clinic, you can prepare your practice for participation in upcoming mass vaccinations coming for COVID-19.Video: Group Chat Messages in PCC EHR
An overview of the group chat features in PCC EHR's chat tool.Post Personal Payments and Write Off Charges
Watch this video to learn how to post any personal payment in PCC EHR. Along the way, learn about Account Notes and bad debt write-offs.Autopost ERAs (Advanced Training Session)
Watch this video to learn how to autopost your electronic remittance advice (ERAs) from payers in PCC.Post Insurance Payments and Adjustments
Learn how to manually post insurance payments and adjustments in PCC. Along the way, you can change the copay due on a charge and use PCC EHR's components to work with policies, demographics, and account notes. After posting, you can review payment histories and edit or delete the payments.Provide Good Faith Estimates for Pediatric Encounters
If a family does not have insurance, or the family won’t be using insurance for an encounter, then a pediatric practices needs to provide a “Good Faith Estimate” for the cost of care when an encounter is scheduled more than 3 days in advance.Review Payment History and Edit Payments
You can review payment history by encounter, or see all payment history for an account. You can also edit payments that were posted incorrectly and adjust how payments are applied to charges. Read below to learn how.Review Payment History and Edit Personal Payments
You can review payment history by encounter, or see all payment history for an account. You can also edit personal payments that were posted incorrectly, or that are linked to the wrong charges.- You can print a receipt whenever you post a payment. You can also print a receipt for any payment(s) in an account's history.
- You can print a receipt whenever you post a payment. You can also print a receipt for any payment(s) in an account’s history.
Post a Returned Check or Other Personal Payment Reversal
Learn how to post a returned check, stopped credit card payment, or other payment reversal in PCC EHR.- Learn how to refund personal credits in PCC EHR.
Install and Set Up the Authy App
Contents1 Install the Authy App1.1 On iPhone1.2 On Android2 Register Your Device3 Set Up Notifications and One-Touch Approval3.1 On Your Phone3.2 On Your Apple Watch4 Access Your Authy Account on a New Device5 Helpful Authy Links The Authy app turns your smartphone into a secure password generator for taking certain actions on your PCC system. […]- The Chat Message Log records your saff’s usage of PCC EHR’s Chat messages, so you can review communication between your team members and investigate policy violations. Owing to PCC EHR’s chat potentially containing sensitive information, the Chat Log report is a separate permission from the Audit Log in PCC’s User Administration tool. To access the […]
Reverse an Insurance Payment (Post a Takeback)
When an insurance company or other payer reverses a payment, also called a "takeback", use PCC EHR's Insurance Payments tool to quickly reverse the payment and post the new adjudication information for the claim.Write Off Charges and Bad Debt
When you want to write off a charge that is unrecoverable ("bad debt"), or post other account adjustments that reduce the amount due for a charge and decrease an account's outstanding personal balance, use the Payments tool.Post Capitation Checks, Incentive Payments, Interest Payments, Overpayments, and Withhold Payments
Learn how to record capitation checks, incentive payments, insurance interest payments, payment amounts that exceed the amount due on a charge ("Overpayments"), and end-of-year withhold payments- When payors adjudicate a claim, they send your practice an Electronic Remittance Advice (ERA), also known as an 835 file. PCC receives these ERAs and you can review them in the Electronic Remittance Advice tool.
- When you need to review the insurance company's full response to a claim submission, how do you open and work with the ERA 835 file in PCC?
- Learn how to record capitation payments, incentive payment, insurance interest payments, withhold payments, and overpayments in PCC EHR.
- When you need to review the insurance company's full response to a claim submission, how do you open and work with the ERA 835 file in PCC?